The Daily Norseman Mailbag, May 6th, 2021

Good Morning!

This is probably the future of the mailbag going forward with my new schedule, article on the front page soliciting for questions on Monday, with the follow up post on Wednesday or Thorsday depending on what’s going on in my life.

We got a Twitter question this week!

For salary cap questions I’ll continue using overthecap.com so I’m consistent with the numbers I throw out there.

Any trades involving draft picks I’m using the updated NFL Trade Value Chart developed by Rich Hill available at https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-Value-Chart-Rich-Hill.asp

For evaluating or looking up draft prospects or rookies my go to is thedraftnetwork.com

If I can’t come up with what I think is a legitimate answer, I’ll ask someone who I think can provide one.

Enough from me, let’s see what was on everyone’s mind.

From Twitter: @RingoNo4 asked:

The Vikings taking Buckeye linemen scares me *ahem* Pat Elflein “ahem*. What are you expecting from Wyatt Davis in his rookie year and who else do you think will be competing with him at guard?

From ProFootball Network: link

1) Charles Leno Jr., Chicago Bears T
2) Russell Okung, Carolina Panthers T
3) Kelechi Osemele, Kansas City Chiefs G
4) Eric Fisher, Kansas City Chiefs T
5) Mitchell Schwartz, Kansas City Chiefs T
6) Austin Reiter, Kansas City Chiefs C
7) Dennis Kelly, Tennessee Titans T
8) Trai Turner, Los Angeles Chargers G

From sportrac link:

As you can see from either list, there aren’t a lot of interior offensive lineman out there as free agents who aren’t on the wrong side of 30 or don’t have an injury history. Maybe Nick Easton could be signed, but if I remember correctly he declined an offer from the Vikings last year and got more money from the Saints.

My expectation is Wyatt Davis is the starting right guard this year and going forward my hope for Davis is he’s around league average and can improve over the next few years, because let’s face it, league average for the Vikings interior offensive line would be an improvement.

MalcomBiggles231 pondered:

If you were a kind of soup, what kind of soup would you be and why?

Cock-a-leekie soup is a Scottish soup dish consisting of leeks and peppered chicken stock, often thickened with rice, or sometimes barley. While it is called “Scotland’s National Soup”, it probably originated as a chicken and onion soup in France.
Why? Leeks and chicken are good in soup, plus it’s a funny name because I’m forever 14 year old me.

Mn-Fan-OutWest asked:

Hey Rob !! The draft was awesome !! I think many are pleased the trenches got some much needed love. Wanted to ask... who is your favorite late round choice the Vikings drafted this year? ( RD4-6 )

If everyone doesn’t know, I follow, promote and cheer for a late round selection every year, those guys have to work harder to make the team and I respect that. Usually it’s a “try hard guy” who has athletic ability but limitations that cause him to drop to the third day, also most of my “follow guys” have a good story surrounding them.
Review of the last couple of years:
2020 James Lynch DT Round 4
2019 Olabisi Johnson WR Round 7
2018 Daniel Carlson K Round 5 (RIP)
2017 Jack Tocho (should have had a fall guy) and the GOAT Kyle Sloter

For this year my late round guy to follow is: Jaylen Tywman, DT Round 6. He took last year off to provide financially for his family. He’s a little undersized at 6’2” and 290 for DT, but I’m hoping Andre Patterson can coach him up and he’ll find a way to either the practice squad or 53 and see the field on a rotational basis this year.

Blake Donlon pondered:

How do you think Rick did this off-season as far as addressing the offensive line? Cutting Rieff was questioned by many, but between the draft and a couple of trades/signings there are a few new (and old) faces in the trenches. Do we think Spielman should have done more? Less? And do we think we can call our line issues “solved” at this juncture?

I thought Rick had to cut Reiff, although he was a very good LT his contract was going to be an issue going forward due to cap space (see Cousins, Kirk guaranteed money for reference). I have no heartburn with Rick moving Reiff, but all of us have to remember LT wasn’t the issue last year with run/pass protection, it was the interior of the offensive line. I don’t think new LT Christian Darrisaw will be able to be able to replicate Reiff’s performance from the last couple of years; the transition from college to the NFL is a real thing and Darrisaw will see things moving faster than he’s used too. Then again, I think Darrisaw will be fine in the long run.

As to your second question, no I don’t think the offensive line issues are solved at this point, the Vikings will have a rookie at LT and RG (if they keep Davis at RG which they should do, but who knows) plus we don’t know for sure who the LG will be...and Bradburry has been okay but not great at center. Additionally, all these rookies will have a transition period of one to two seasons adjusting to the speed and strength of the league. Keep in mind the offensive line issues last year weren’t because of either tackle.

HiVike asked:

Since when do you have to give a “heads up” to a player that the team is drafting someone in their position????

Did the Vikings notify Cousins about the Mond selection, if so I’m assuming that’s what your referring too. Kirk has two more years with the Vikings because of his guaranteed money and ability to stay healthy and on the field, Mond has two years to learn the offense, improve his footwork and mechanics and he’s on a rookie contract...win-win for everyone.

IowanViking pondered:

How do you think Cousins responds to being a “mentor qb “? With WFT he was trying to earn the job coming in the same time as RGIII (wasn’t that hard), and now he’s the incumbent. Does he elevate his game? Show Mond how to be a professional? Fold under pressure? Your thoughts?

I’ve read some thoughts from former players about the whole “mentorship” thing. From what I’ve read it depends on the individual incumbent and who they are as a person. Is it within Kirk’s wheelhouse to show Mond how to prepare, conduct himself and be a professional QB? Probably, because that’s a reflection on the team and not Kirk. Can Kirk groom him to become his successor, likely no based on what I’ve read from former players because who wants to groom the guy who takes your job? Reading the tea leaves I’d guess the Vikings will move on from Kirk when his contract is completed and IF (big if) Mond has improved his game and mechanics he’ll be the Vikings QB. Let me say this: I don’t care who the Vikings QB is as long as he can lead the team to a Superb Owl win.

99thenordicrush95 asked:

I’ve heard more about how the Vikings were targeted Fields than about how our division rival scooped him up. Should this be concerning? Its the bears after all, so im not too scared yet, but if they nailed the pick we are screwed.

Initially I thought rumors the “Vikings were targeting Fields in the draft” was post draft clickbait nonsense, but it seems to have taken on a life of its own and probably has some basis in truth. The Bears had to make a move at QB after they moved up for Trubisky (and passed over Mahomes, thankyouverymuchforthat) and he turned out to be Ponder 2.0 plus Foles has either been injured in ineffective except that one year....damnit. As Fields started to drop I did want the Vikings to select him, but the Bears made the bold move and got their guy. As to whether Fields will pan out, we’ll see since the Bears have Dalton as a placeholder so Fields will have time to learn the offense and work on his mechanics. I did see in the comments a discussion about Field’s seizure disorder, I have to think the Vikings medical staff blew it if they weren’t willing to sign off on Fields unless there’s more there than is being reported.
Sidenote: I’m warming up to the Mond selection after watching some of his college tape and reading some stuff from sportswriters I follow.

tankCommanderyck pondered:

Due to the coral cluster crisis, traffic seems way down thus much less purple on the pages. If it pleases the court may I suggest the rec number be lowered to increase purple during this time of crisis as a temporary measure. Getting 5 recs these days would be like 15 recs b.c. (before coral).
I know this may take unanimous approval from the DN board of directors or maybe you can use jedi powers.
Would lowering purple rec to 4 be a good idea or bad idea?

I have a lot of abilities here...I almost inserted a He-Man “I have the Power” gif but held myself in check. Back when I was lurking about 10 years ago I remember a post from Christopher about the change from three to five recs for a color change. I don’t have the abilities to make this change, and I’m okay with the five recs for purple.

MidWinterViking pondered:

Jaylen Twyman put up 40 reps on the bench press. He he was benching only 100 lbs instead of 225, which would happen first: Jaylen gets tired or the guy counting gets distracted/bored and loses track?

The most realistic scenario I can envision: Guy gets bored, starts updating his bookface or insta, quits counting; Twyman throws the weight in the air, yells at the guy, Twyman catches the bar with both hands and keeps going, guy keeps the count going...boom.

Offda22 asked:

What causes pi$$ shivers? And do ladies get them?

The truth is that we don’t really know. There’s no peer-reviewed research on the subject to shed light on the precise biological underpinnings of this phenomenon. But from what scientists do know about the bladder and its relationship with the nervous system, they’ve pieced together some possible explanations for why we shiver when we pee.

These center on two main ideas: It’s caused either by the sensation of the drop in temperature as the warm pee leaves your body or by a confusion between signals in the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

hubmen22 pondered:

Did you prefer Rashad Weaver over Patrick Jones II?
If yes, do you still?

I think Jones is a better athlete as compared to Weaver but they both have comparable limitations.

SurlyViking asked two questions:
Two questions.

OMG! OMG! OMG!

We have a QBOTF (maybe) that is not named Kirk Cousins.

My question is this, if Kirk looks like he did last September, in an important late season game, any chance we see Zimmer bench him and Mond gets some playing time?

I know, too early. Sorry, I have been dreaming about the next Vikings QB since the Chicago game in 2018.

Part 2/. any chance Mond makes some of us forget about SLOTERSATURDAY!!?

If Kirk plays as poorly as he did this September as he did last year, Zimmer should absolutely get the hook and pull Kirk from the game, especially if the the game is out of reach because he’s QB1 and there’s no reason to risk injury to him. Barring injury to Kirk, I don’t see Mond getting meaningful time on the field with the Vikings for the next two years. I think that’s a good thing for Mond, he’ll have time to learn and work on his mechanics without having the pressure of being a starter.

I really liked Kyle Sloter QB1, unfortunately the entire coaching staff and most of the sportswriters disagreed with me. SloterGOAT made the preseason fun and worth watching...I like watching preseason games anyway to see how the rookies and UDFA’s are doing on the field to see who I think will make the 53 or practice squad.

OwlExterminator pondered:

What are your thoughts on the Aaron Rodgers fiasco? Do you think he’s on the roster for week 1?

I realize this is a vikings thread but we are looking at a NFC North where Kirk Cousins might be the only returning starter to his respective team. What are your thoughts on the QB landscape?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Okay, I have more on A-a-ron. While we all enjoy the schism going on in GB, let’s remember the source of all this, money. Rodgers doesn’t have any guaranteed money left on his current contract and wants an extension, I haven’t read or seen any numbers thrown out there but consistent with a veteran All-Pro QB it’s going to be pricey. He’s getting up there in age at 37 so I don’t know how much the Packers organization is going to want to tie up cap space with him. I doubt he views their QB draft pick from last year as a challenge to be QB1.

If he doesn’t play that does alter the course and trajectory of the NFC North, it’s an actual race between Green Bay, the Bears and the Vikings (sorry any Lions fans, I’m not a Goff believer).

My hope is he gets traded to an AFC team, and takes Joe Buck with him.

As for the rest of the QB’s, Dalton and Cousins are tier 2, Goff is tier 3 with Fields to be determined.

Skollvikings69 pondered:

Who are the players that you wish the Vikings had drafted most. For me it was Creed Humphrey and Bobby Brown although I am OK with Wyatt Davis.

@Trevor Lawrence@ Seriously though, I was getting excited at the thought of Justin Fields getting drafted by the Vikings until the Bears moved up to get him. Christian Barmore went in the 2nd round to the Patriots, I wanted the Vikings to draft him but it sounds like the asking price for a 2nd round pick was too high.

szilip asked

is there any position you’d address in free agency after the draft?
which one?
who’d be your choice to sign?

WR3-either Golden Tate or Dede Westbrook, but I don’t know what kind of money they would be willing to sign a contract for.

pirateflip77 pondered:

Just read an article on the Bronco’s new GM. Who do you think did a better job drafting, Wreck or George?

It’s too soon to give you an actual answer, give it three years and we’ll be able to compare Paton and Rick’s drafting ability. I will say this though, I didn’t get mad at Rick this year for any bonehead picks like I usually do, I thought it was a pretty good draft for the Vikings.

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to pose questions either via Twitter, email or in the mailbag post. I’ll solicit for questions for the next mailbag on Monday the 17th of May and get the mailbag questions with my mediocre answers out that week.

Skol